United Is The First U.S. Airline To Offer Satellite Wi-Fi Service To Its International Flights

By Gene Ryan Briones on 01/15/2013

United Airlines, touted as the world’s largest airline in terms of destinations and passengers flown, is the first U.S. airline to offer onboard satellite-based Wi-Fi Internet connectivity to its international flights. It’s important to note that onboard Wi-Fi is already widely used on domestic flights. Other international non-U.S. airlines have been offering a similar kind of service, but U.S. has yet to introduce one. Today, United is the first U.S.-based international carrier to offer such service.

United’s Boeing 747-400, which serves the trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes, will use Panasonic’s Ku-band satellite technology to bring in-flight Internet service to its customers. United expects to complete the installation of its satellite-based Wi-Fi across its 300 aircrafts within this year. “Satellite-based Wi-Fi service enables us to better serve our customers and offer them more of what they want in a global airline,” said Jim Compton, Vice Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer of United. “With this new service, we continue to build the airline that customers want to fly.”